Gustavus Wind Orchestra is the touring wind ensemble of the Department of Music at Gustavus Adolphus College. Gustavus Wind Orchestra is the oldest touring ensemble at Gustavus and holds the distinguished honor of being the oldest touring collegiate band in the United States west of the Mississippi River with traditions nearly 150 years old.
Modeled after the flexible wind ensemble and allowing for all students to perform both as soloists and members of the large ensemble, Gustavus Wind Orchestra (GWO) musicians benefit from a comprehensive music performance education regardless of their Gustavus major of study. Representing almost all academic majors on campus, GWO performs solo repertoire, chamber music, and large ensemble music. The ensemble is constantly performing the most artistic and creative wind ensemble repertoire spanning all time periods. GWO takes pride in grounding everything it does in a liberal arts education, with that foundation serving as the cornerstone of its flexible and creative programs.
During its rich and storied history, Gustavus Wind Orchestra has toured annually within the United States and Canada, traveling internationally every four years. These tours bring GWO’s music and service model to all corners of the globe and have reached thousands of communities and hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.